Freezing fun: Polar Plunge at the Fort Ritchie Community Center

CASCADE, Md. - The weather might have only been a few degrees above freezing on Tuesday, but that didn't stop nearly 150 people from bringing in the new year at the Second Annual Polar Plunge at the Fort Ritchie Community Center.

Those taking the plunge into Lake Royer - which had a sheet of ice across the center - helped raise more than $5,000 for the center, an increase over last year, said Kirsten Hubbard, business and development manager at the community center.

"It's growing. It's fantastic," Hubbard said. "We put a lot of effort into this event. Everybody can still stay nice and warm. We do it, but we're not hard-core."

Participants were offered a variety of warm foods, such as soups and s'mores, as well as drinks, portable heaters and a bonfire to help make their experience as enjoyable as possible.

Hubbard took the plunge herself, stating it wasn't quite as bad as one might think and even a little enjoyable.

"What I've learned doing the polar plunge this year and last year is when you're in it, it's really cold, but when you get out it just feels really good," she said. "I can't explain it."

Denise Shifflet, Greencastle, and Grant Gayman, Waynesboro, took the plunge on Tuesday in support of a friend who had always wanted to do an event like this.

"Since we're such awesome friends we wanted to mark it off her bucket list," Shifflet said. "It wasn't on mine."

The two had different approaches to getting in the water. Where Shifflet took her time, Gayman chose to go all in.

"I decided if I was going in, I was diving in," he said.

Advertisement

Prior to taking the plunge, Shifflet took some time to psych herself up in her mind.

"I just though 'We're just going to do it,'" she said. "I was anxious. I bit my fingernails for an hour before the event."

At the end of the day though, both Shifflet and Gayman said "Oh, yeah!" they'd definitely do it again next year.

They all took the plunge as well as Shannon's mother, Nancy, and their children, Cade Reed, 10, Maizy Jenson, 9, Tia Jenson, 12, and Cole Reed, 12.
The children took the plunge for bragging rights, Cole Reed said. Many of their friends either didn't know what a polar plunge was or thought they were crazy if they did.

"You just had to hurry up and do it. I'm glad we did it though," Deanna Reed said. The best part of which though is "the fact that you accomplished something on your bucket list."

Everyone plans to do it again next year - making it an annual family event, she said.

Duane and Ann Dickey, Waynesboro, came out for the second year, but only as spectators.

The plunge is a fun event to watch and it helps to bring the community together and provide some winter fun for the kids, Duane Dickey said.

"It's nice just to do something exciting and different on New Year's Day," Ann Dickey said.

However, the couple has no immediate plans to take the plunge themselves and will continue to just enjoy watching those who do.

"I like a hot tub," Ann Dickey said. "I'm not going to jump in out there."

As a non-profit organization, the center meets their mission in many ways over the winter by raising money, bringing the community together and making use of the beautiful lakeside facility, as well as the lake, Hubbard said.

Next year, they hope to grow the event even more.

"We have a lot of room in that lake for a lot more people," she said.

------

Samantha Cossick can be reached at scossick@publicopinionnews.com and 262-4762.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story